Oil and Gas Fights Back
By Chris Hitchcock, Esq. • Chapter Legal Advisor
This year two huge oil companies have used defamation lawsuits to attempt to intimidate and financially ruin environmental nonprofit groups. The success of the Energy Transfer case and the outcome of the ExxonMobil suit may encourage other companies to attack other nonprofits for alleged defamation.
Clean Energy is the Cheapest Solution
By New Jersey Chapter Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot • anjuli.ramos@sierraclub.org
Editor’s note: This commentary was published in April 2025 on NJ.com.
New Jersey’s utility bills are already some of the highest in the nation, and they are about to get even higher. New Jerseyans want to power their homes and businesses with affordable and reliable energy, without the uncertainty of rising rates from year to year. It’s time to address the real cause of rising rates with solutions that will keep costs down.
Take Action Against NJ’s Rising Electric Rates
By the Building Electrification Committee of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club
Most NJ residents’ electric rates will increase by about 20% in June. In this article, we explain why this is happening. It’s not due to the push for clean energy.
Bird Flu Makes Its Mark In New Jersey
USCG Approves Contentious NJ Turnpike Extension
By Bill Beren • Transportation Committee Chair
On May 7, the US Coast Guard said it would approve a permit to replace the Newark Bay Bridge and its approaches, skipping greener alternatives despite environmental concerns. The permit would include authorization for improvements from Interchange 14 to 14A.
The Sierra Club and other organizations had petitioned the Coast Guard to reject the NJ Department of Transportation’s (DOT) environmental impact assessment on the grounds that the DOT failed to consider alternatives that would shift traffic to public transit and thereby reduce the projected growth in vehicular traffic. Instead, the Coast Guard accepted DOT’s position that those alternatives failed “to meet the stated purposes to improve long-term [structural] integrity of [the highway] and/or to provide the necessary capacity to meet projected 2050 traffic demand.”
State of the Wind Economy
By Howard Stein and Denise Brush • Wind Committee Co-Chairs
The “wind port” project at Paulsboro is headed for a state of hibernation. Stockpiles of wind turbine monopiles manufactured there are being disassembled. It is doubtful whether any offshore wind energy farms will be built in New Jersey over the next four years. Gov. Murphy’s bold vision for offshore wind is a shambles. The opposition to wind power, which includes right-leaning politicians and NJ shore towns, has distributed a series of never-ending lies about offshore wind power.
Join the Fight for Clean Air in New Jersey!
By Patricia Hilliard • Hudson County Group Chair
Smokestacks are a less common sight—for now—but many sources of air pollution are still right in front of us.
Increased hauling of equipment, devices, and food from busy ports and warehouses has made transportation a major source of air pollution. Diesel trucks, ocean-going vessels, and freight trains that burn diesel fuel are blowing particulate matter into the air in every community.
Help Fund Our Political Action Committee!
By Jim Andreano • Fundraising Committee Chair
Many of us are still worn out from last year’s election. We may have had our fill of elections for a while. But for better or worse, New Jersey doesn’t give you a year off. New Jersey is one of two states whose gubernatorial election takes place the year after the presidential election. We have no time to sit back and relax. We must get back into the fight.
That is what the Political Action Committee (PAC) of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey Chapter is about. And that is why I am asking you to consider donating to it.
Our Air and AI’s Love Affair with Electricity
By George Moffatt • Education Chair, Jersey Shore Group
Gov. Phil Murphy and other state officials recently gathered to discuss how New Jersey could be a major player in the Wild West world of artificial intelligence (AI). Murphy announced a partnership with Microsoft and Princeton University to develop an AI hub of innovation in West Windsor.
The massive amount of electricity that AI systems need can sometimes be met by upgrading the output of local electrical utilities that serve them. If so, state regulatory agencies must resolve the issue of who pays for any necessary utility grid upgrades—the AI customers or, as some rather dated utility regulations require, the utility’s entire customer base.
Opinion: Does Fusion Energy Deserve Another Look?
By John Miraglia • johnworks3@aol.com
The world’s hunger for energy is increasing. Developing nations want more. AI demands more. At the same time, the Paris Agreement goal of capping greenhouse gas levels at 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels is slipping away. An array of clean energy sources will be required to meet that emissions goal. Energy from fusion reactors may be one of them.
Recycling Center Fires Threaten Community Health
By Urmila Malvadkar
Smoke plumes shot up and darkened the horizon from a fire at an EMR metal recycling facility in Camden on February 21. Although the cause could not be confirmed, EMR initially speculated the cause was a lithium-ion battery. These are not supposed to be sent to EMR’s facility, and they constitute a serious fire risk.
This was not an isolated incident: EMR has had multiple fires and environmental violations over the past several years. Further, New Jersey has had many instances of battery-induced fires at recycling plants across the state, injuring people and damaging property.
2025 Election for NJ Chapter ExCom
In the October-December issue of The Jersey Sierran newsletter, we will include a ballot for our annual election for the Chapter Executive Committee. This year, the Nominating Committee has nominated three candidates for the ballot: Paul Sanderson, Pat Hilliard, and Tony Hagen. If other Sierra Club members in New Jersey would also like to run for Chapter Executive Committee, they may do so by submitting an election petition signed by at least 15 Chapter members to Chapter Vice Chair Joe Testa by June 30, 2025. For details on submitting a candidate petition, please contact Joe Testa at vice.chair@newjersey.sierraclub.org